i am a food blog

Remember that shepherd’s pie topped with roasted garlic cream cheese mashed potatoes I made last week? It was so good that Mike and I almost inhaled the entire pan in one sitting. As we were eating, I was getting a little worried that we wouldn’t have any leftovers. See, I’m a huge fan of leftovers – especially when you take them and turn them into something else. Something else like this insane shepherd’s pie grilled cheese. Yup, I literally put a piece of shepherd’s pie between two(!) grilled cheese sandwiches to make a crazy, carbo-licious sandwich monstrosity.

Mike, admittedly was kind of worried. I mean, if I stopped to examine it, I would be too. Let’s be real. It was two grilled cheese sandwiches (v v carb-y) stuffed with even more carbs. Most people are scared of carbs – heck, I’ve been scared of carbs before. I even flirted with going on an Atkins diet. I lasted a couple of days (half a day), but it was pure torture. Especially when going to the bakery. My sister-in-law dragged me there to pick up some bread, but to be honest, I was pretty willing – I was hoping to fill up on the sweet, sweet smell of bread. The smell was intoxicating.

There were loaves and loaves of fresh bread perfuming the air with their sweet, delicate scent. While I was busing inhaling and drooling at the same time, my sister-in-law was wandering around, randomly pointing at breads and pastries saying “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.” Nothing was was sacred from her matter of fact statement of scorn: croissants, danishes, muffins, tarts – even the giant glistening cinnamon buns. It was enough to drive me mad.

I turned to her and wailed in despair, “Why do you hate them!??! What did they EVER do to you? They just want to be eaten!!!”

Turns out she was saying, “I eat you, I eat you, I eat you.” So, um, yeah. My carb-free delirious state altered my hearing somehow (or maybe it was just my bad hearing?). Anyway, after that incident, I’ve never contemplated giving up carbs again. Kim and I celebrated my entering the world of carbs again with a huge cinnamon bun. Don’t worry, we spilt one between the two of us, I didn’t overdose or anything.

Now, if I did want to overdose on carbs, I would definitely do it with this sandwich. It’s everything a good sandwich should be: hearty, filling, and a mix of textures and flavors. The crispy-crunch of the grilled cheese and the yield of the mashed potatoes with ground beef contrasted perfectly. This is a extreme sandwich friends, please exercise caution.

Shepherd’s Pie Grilled Cheese
makes 1 sandwich, which is more than enough for 2
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
total time: 20 minutes

• 1 square slice of leftover shepherd’s pie, heated
• 4 slices of thin bread
• cheese, as needed
• room temperature butter

Make two grilled cheese sandwiches as you please. Sandwich your slice of shepherd’s pie inside the two grilled cheese sandwiches. Slice in half and enjoy!

PS – Happy St. Paddy’s Day! Hope you’re wearing green and drinking Guinness!
PPS – I know I generally have a large number of typos, but today I may have even more – I have a horrible case of the flu and am completely delirious. Oh gosh. I almost typed delicious instead of delirious…

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